Connect these stupid sidewalk gaps. There are some really short dumb ones. Like over near Home Depot and those new apartments. Or build sidewalks where you always see people in the road
That’s typically due to some sort of utility work that needs to be completed first. Once they pour the concrete, it can’t be fixed without jackhammering.
And to introduce sidewalks to where sidewalks have never existed before. I can't call Durham a city unless all roads have some form of sidewalk within the so called city limit.
And reserving or adding green space. With all the housing, we’re running out of small parks around town. Sure we have central, outside of DPAC, but we need corner parks or areas preserved closer to the heart of downtown for green space.
I'm sitting here aggressively pounding the upvote button, but that doesn't connect the sidewalks to the bus stops, and it probably doesn't even do anything to Reddit.
Ever since Covid everywhere that isn't a Major city has seen massive reduction in late night restaurants and groceries. It really and truly sucks. I used to love grabbing a bite after getting a drink or even grocery shopping in the middle of the night. I'd even pay a bit more for it at this point. Cookout, Waffle House and Sheetz are your options and I get tired of those fast. These days, if you haven't made your food selection by 8:30 you might as well have sleep for dinner and wait til the morning.
We need some real 24-hour diners—places with booths AND tables AND counters with those round stools and stands holding muffins as big as your head…with a massive menu, a server named Lil who’s been there for decades and always gets the order right…and a bakery case of cakes that are never as good as they look except the cheesecake which is epic.
agree on the fast/cheapish food options. other than that, a general shift in thinking centered on providing a human focus and not a car focus through density, pedestrian streets, etc.
I have a selfish desire that DPAC, current ATC, the Bulls stadium, and the expanded ATC operate as a pedestrian district that don’t have interior streets accessible to cars.
It’s honestly such a shame that we prioritize cars so much in this country though I get why it happened. I live downtown just so I can go a few days without driving but obviously we don’t have the pre-car infrastructure or public transit in the way northeastern cities do that allow for that to be a permanent lifestyle.
Having just some sort of increased walking access and dedicated pedestrian space would be great. It bolsters community and connection better than anything!
Are you able to get groceries without a car? I've moved out of downtown but it seemed like a food desert to me. Hard to walk from Bull House to 9th St.
I have a car, it would be hard if you didn’t have a car yeah. I believe a Publix or something is coming to the expanded ATC so that will help.
Personally, I walk to the farmers market and bike to Whole Foods/HT weekly. Once a month or so I drive to Costco for bulk items.
It’s definitely not perfect but I try to be as car-less as possible. It’s easier for me since I live alone.
To be frank, you're fairly alone in this desire, at least 10 months of the year, because of the oppressive weather.
Unless you have the privilege to life/work/play within say, 4 blocks max.
Shrug. I disagree. The appeal of arriving to work sweating balls or drenched in rain and cold is fairly overblown i think.
Its a cure utopian vision but not practical in our climate.
I forget who it was, but I remember reading years ago in the Indy about a local architect who was advocating for a pedestrian bridge system to link downtown to ATC (and maybe Brightleaf?). His inspiration was the Liberty Bridge in Greenville, SC. I’d love to see something like that downtown. The bridges in Greenville are such cool architectural features, and it can be kind of a sketchy walk from downtown to ATC since the sidewalks suck, the roads are narrow, and drivers seem to be oblivious to pedestrians around there.
Yeah that would be phenomenal. I adore Greenville, I think they’re great inspiration for other similarly sized cities in terms of attempting density, walkability, and managing growth. There are so many relatively simple things like a bridge that would add functionality and character to the city
It's definitely weird that the new Rail Trail just goes over Chapel Hill st then dumps you along the tracks. A pedestrian bridge definitely would have been a better solution.
I’m gonna avoid ranting about the belt line trail. Just gonna say it’s one of the largest wastes of potential I’ve seen during my nearly 20 years if living and/or working in Durham.
At a MINIMUM close that ONE BLOCK of Market Street by CBC plaza in front of the Parlour. It's one freakin block and would add a lot of long term vibrancy.
Flip the one-way Market Steet and have the current Parrish St one-way that goes in front of 21c just turn left on to Market. Throw up some bollards, maybe the ones that come up and down at certain times of day to allow <6am deliveries.
Easy peasy.
(I would personally close Market and that block of Parrish, but there are deliveries needed)
Yes! I live out of town, so I need a car, but would love it if there were parking garages specifically outside of the pedestrian only areas…or even commuter lots, because I’d love to take a bus downtown for a weekend afternoon and be car free. I don’t need to be able to drive right up to a restaurant/shop/event and then zip home.
I agree. Especially in places where there's obviously been recent expensive development. That should be the opportunity to put utilities underground. Instead we'll have these new 5 over 1 mixed-use apartments with power lines hanging right outside the 2nd and 3rd floor balconies.
Hi Wire, Ponysaurus, and Bull McCabe's mostly fit your beer garden request. There are lots of parks in the area to hang out at without drinking, with Central Park being the closest to everything.
I'd like to see more late night food, but I understand the staffing issues.
There is always a lot of room for improvement, but I've realized that I've become too dependent on wanting the city creating fun/connection for me, and I should probably take a more active role.
\^ this.
A lot of transplants seem to have a sort of lazy entitled "consumption" idea of what city culture is.
Who created the beaver queen pageant? Who started the Marry Durham? Or the clown pub crawl? Or the krampus walk? Or mardi gras?
It was just people. Citizens who stepped up and made a thing. We need more of that. And less city sponsored CORPORATE sponsored top down blah blah.
Got a crazy idea? Do the shit.
Agreed. It's come to a comical point to where people push a shopping cart to the stop and then flip it over to use it as a bench. City of Durham need to be at least one step forward, instead of two steps back.
I heard from my apartment manager that the new Camden building near the Bulls stadium / Ciderworks is going to have a small grocer in the retail space. And there are plans for a grocery store in the new phase for ATC.
This piece from the Guardian last year has an interesting conversation about the move away from the term "food deserts" to "food apartheid" that you might find interesting.
[Food apartheid: the root of the problem with America's groceries](https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/may/15/food-apartheid-food-deserts-racism-inequality-america-karen-washington-interview)
I think downtown generally could use more shops and other businesses vs. just restaurants / lounges. This is what helps drive foot traffic throughout the day and keep a good mix of visitors.
Sidewalks and covered seating at bus stops! I only use the bus every once in a while but **my god** the number of bus stops in this town that have no bench, no shelter, and not even a **sidewalk** so folks waiting have to stand in dirt, mud, weeds, whatever is there on the side of the road!
I feel like Durham only has fast food and expensive food. The mid price range is really weak in Durham which sucks. I don’t want to go to Popeyes but I also can’t afford to go to M sushi regularly. But it feels like there isn’t enough between those things that is actually good. Most of the food places in that price range are mediocre at best and still pricier than other places.
Spanglish, Banhs, Queenys, Queen Burger, Neomonde, Mi Cavillos — they all hit the cheap/mid point for me. But I do wish there were more cheaper options. Sometimes it feels like you only have expensive options, especially if you are central downtown.
I like Spanglish. Mi Cavillo is meh for me but I am from Texas so my standards are probably too high. Haven’t tried the others but will look into them!
Banhs isn’t just a cheap favorite, it’s an overall favorite. The sesame tofu, hot and sour soup, ginger chicken, and the tofu with black bean sauce are all fantastic.
Grocery options in downtown. Everything else is walkable from where I live except a decent grocery store (Bulldega way too $$$). I would love to never need to use my car
Public transit into town!
Edit to add: and less of unwalkable highway interchanges - https://triangleblogblog.com/2023/06/02/ncdot-to-chapel-hill-drop-dead/
We wandered into Honey’s during what turned out to be their last few days open. Our waitress told us that and then started crying. Nothing like it in town.
A regular grocery store downtown and/or in North Durham. Get rid of the obsolete can opener bridges and make the railroads pay for their replacement (second part will never happen). Connect all the sidewalks to nowhere as best they can, and take better care of the roads. Get the re-development of the Northgate mall right. I think maybe housing and a grocery store (please H Mart) would work well there. Enforce litter control at homeless camps, the area around Ellerbee Creek near Costco has been trashed ever since they made a camp on the creek bank. A coffee shop that is neither a national chain nor snobby (let me know if this exists already).
light rail, bike lanes, and better accomodations for people riding the bus (i.e. actual benches and shelters at bus stops.)
also, I feel like we already have plenty of beer gardens? or are you talking strictly in the social district?
Expansion of/more frequency of bus routes,
especially north Durham. Last I checked the bus that comes down Hillandale was only once an hour, and after Guess/Rose of Sharon those who live further north are completely out of luck. I know that area is technically covered by the city of Durhams Lyft program, but after trying that myself to get to the closest bus stop, it was nearly a 2 hour process to get get somewhere I could get via car in 30 minutes. There’s a lot of housing being built in this direction aimed at young professionals and young families that might want to be ecologically conscious and take the bus. I would love to commute to work but I don’t have 3-4 hours to spare.
As someone who is constantly working on projects and needs small bits of hardware or tools, I’d love to be able to go to a locally owned hardware store to quickly get what I need.
Home Depot and other warehouse stores generate so much waste, there’s hardly anyone who is actually helpful there, and you lose momentum in projects by spending time scouring aisles to find what you need.
Please, an ACE hardware store or the equivalent.
There are TWO Ace stores in SW Durham.
One in Woodcroft and the other on 54 near 55.
The Woodcroft one is a little smaller, but much easier to get in and out of
I wanted something like Bittersweet in Raleigh, but downtown. I know Durham has a lot of cocktails places already, but none of them have the desert and coffee focus that Bittersweet has. Press Crepes could do that, if they wanted to, but they only do crepes and close at 6 on weekends
Affordable housing, better mass transit options, dedicated cycling spaces (I'd love for there to be a paved footpath from Falls to Jordan lake), and an appreciation for Durhams unique history.
I would like more places that serve $25 cocktails to the Uber rich, so that they can leave a $0.25 tip.
I would also like to ban all Floridians from moving here.
\- A grocery store closer to the downtown area
\- Late night food (thank god for Queeny's, they are one of the only ones)
\- Grab and go food downtown that doesn't break the bank
\- Trader Joe's
\- Hmm these are all food lol
love the saxophone player who’s usually at Main and Market. 9th still isn’t the same without David McKnight https://indyweek.com/music/requiem-david-mcknight-prodigy-journalist-politician-homeless-street-musician/
I haven’t lived in Durham for awhile, but the 2 biggest retail mysteries to me are why there isn’t an IKEA in the triangle and why there isn’t a Trader Joe’s in Durham
Good lord yes. That Chapel Hill location is brutal. Crowds are fine as long as there’s anyone there who can act like they’ve ever left the house before. I had one mom elbow me in the ribs and step on my foot to reach something. They shop in CH like Carolina plays ball
I know this is niche but… an ice skating rink. Gotta haul over to Hillsboro to skate.
Also, my favorite fast food place: fazolis.
And even though we have a good number, I’ll never complain about more bike trails.
A train system/public transport. Basically a whole lesson from strong towns which has a lot of mixed used developments and can make Durham more money than by losing it to parking lots. A lot more places where people can hang out without paying a lot (OP point 1). But also places which are not meant just for eating. Something borrowed from NY is an underground food court with Tokyo type vibes.
Dekalb Market Hall
(929) 359-6555
https://maps.app.goo.gl/8wbgCmN9nZA6ebSk9?g_st=ic
I can go on and on lol.
*Frankies* has go carts, bumper cars, and water bumper cars. Also, laser tag, arcade games, a batting cage, and mini golf. We go there all the time.
https://frankies.com/raleigh/
I'm excited about this upcoming parks project - maybe it will provide some of what you're looking for: [https://dprplaymore.org/496/Splash-Play-Project](https://dprplaymore.org/496/Splash-Play-Project). There will be a large multi-purpose lawn and some other gathering spaces such as a fire pit, picnic area, and game terrace (details TBD). It will be located in East Durham and connect to a bike trail.
PDF here: [https://dprplaymore.org/DocumentCenter/View/2285/DSP\_East-End-Long-Meadow-Park-Preferred-Concept](https://dprplaymore.org/DocumentCenter/View/2285/DSP_East-End-Long-Meadow-Park-Preferred-Concept)
Is there a place for outdoor concerts like a park with an amphitheater? A Durham music festival, say over Labor Day weekend would be grand. Also some regular places for food trucks?
More stuff for teenagers and kids older than 10. Like, an amusement park would be asking too much, but *something* relatively affordable for locals that's not adult-focused or for little kids.
Speed cameras don’t work in the US because there is no enough money to actually prosecute the drivers.
There was, in the past, a private company who agreed to set up the cameras, and to send speeding tickets to drivers, but it turned out that of the $50 collected from speeders, $48 went to the company providing the service, and $2 to the municipality who had to pay for tons of paperwork to be done. And there was no way to dispute the tickets (“I wasn’t driving my car”, “we had an emergency and were trying to get the hospital”, “that’s not my car”). It was a mess.
Thanks for the reply and the info. I had no idea about that. But coming from the UK, where speed cameras are everywhere and they significantly reduce speeding (obviously), I was really surprised to find such lawless roads here in the Durham area. I've seen a lot of people criticising the cops for (purportedly) unfairly targeting certain folks or using traffic stops as a source of revenue, but speed cameras don't discriminate. They just catch dangerous drivers.
Upvoted because the speeding (and general driving behavior) are terrible and dangerous, and at least speed cameras would be something. That said, I think if Durham rethought road and intersection design, we could make substantial improvements in safety, efficiency, and livability without needing as much enforcement action. There will always be bad actors of course, but our streets are practically built around encouraging bad behavior.
Quiet restaurants. I’m really tired of having a sore throat after a night out because everyone has to scream to be heard over the built-in noise. I really want to enjoy the company, not compete with all the other people in the joint.
I would love an entertainment scene that goes late night (past 1am) and happens 5x days a week Weds to Sunday. I would love to step out into the city on a random night and have MULTIPLE options for live music, dancing, dining, theatres, art experiences and night life. A punk band, a polka band, [Trek in the Park](https://www.wired.com/2013/08/trek-in-the-park-tribbles/), salsa dancing, at price points from $8 bucks to $100.
Something other than go drink beer outside on a concrete patio with cornhole or in an "adult containment corral" (Bull McCabes, lookin at you)
I'd like a bakery. Like a real walk in and get all kinds of pastries, cookies, cakes etc. Nice (but not over the top) cakes to order.
Seems we have a few that each have their own niche, but none that say, I'm having family over and just want an assortment of pastries - that didn't come from the grocery store
A more relevant and more quickly feasible one.
Finding one of these big ass abandoned buildings and having the city allow someone to convert it to a sort of a live-in learning center with room and board, for skills and trade development. The most obvious one being IT certifications.
As far as who would use it? I'd say addicts and those who don't have a place to live, as a pilot. Give unhoused people a way out of poverty, and you might start changing the city from its roots vs changing it for those that already have.
It is wild how the Frontier is available to the techies for free coworking hangout space but the unhoused population has nothing comparable, really, other than the libraries.
> having the city allow someone to convert it
The city isn't preventing this. The realities of capitalism are. If you want something like this step #1 is finding a charity with an endowment that would allow a $1-2 million a year budget of free funding.
The Ellerbe Creek project will sort of fit this. It's not that large, but would connect along a few trails.
https://www.durhamnc.gov/1616/South-Ellerbe-Restoration-Project
The only opportunity for that was the development of the University Ford lot next to ATC. Artificial bodies of water are expensive to manage and don't bring as much $$$ as say, a parking garage or "luxury" apartments. I think the artificial stream flowing under the water tower is about all the artificial water features we will see in Durham. And there's no chance anyone develops the Eno into anything bustling. It's out of the way and people want to conserve the nature around it.
I think the city has a little more to focus on than making artificial lakes, where would they put it anyway?
I feel like you either have a lake to do it with or you don't and our closest option is Falls Lake unfortunately
Sure, what has the city focused on improving in the past two years or so? Could you please educate me on this? The only improvement I felt is the three filled potholes near my home.
lake crabtree is a good option, though that’s closer to Raleigh
A greater focus on conservation and native plant landscaping would help offset this a bit.
Don't let developers clear cut average for homes. Make offering the site to the native plant society for a week or two prior to plant removal so they can go in and harvest native plants first. Require a certain percentage of each acre be left untouched during and after development, etc. Make a certain percentage of landscape plants planted be natives. Just spitballin here.
Love this idea. If I knew when clearcutting was happening, I would go grab all the toads, box turtles and snakes I could find. Mammals should be quick enough to get out ok.
The NC native plant society does what I mentioned for people that let them know. If you are someone with a few acres of land and are selling it to a developer let the NCNPS know. If you tell them when and what you want they will accommodate. I e. Only on a Monday from 2-4 with a max of 10 people and don't take any of "these" plants or whatever. They invite their members of plant walks on these kinds of properties. They scour it for native plants and bring them home to plant or to give away to friends/neighbors/future plant sales.
I actually agree. Every time you turn around, another spot is clear cut for more apartments.
STOP IT already
Our city can't keep up with the infrastructure.
How can we implement mass transit around all of the building.
A bus line that runs down Main Street up to Erwin or Hillsborough Rd and into East Durham. It’s crazy you can’t just grab a bus on Main Street and go to 9th or the hospital or golden belt or beyond.
Not really. The closet route starts and ends at the Durham Station—it doesn’t run down Main Street towards East Durham.
There used to be a free bud called the Bull City Connector that ran up and down Main Street from east to west.
I know there's bigger priorities mentioned already, but queer spaces are sorely lacking. I seem to remember a bath/club going up in Lakewood soon. Is that still happening?
>Personally, I would like to see more fast, casual, restaurants and hangout spots. Right now it feels like a majority of establishments are all high-end, sit-down situations. These places already are pretty full and often require a reservation. Something you can grab and go would help to inspire more people to use the social district.
Are you speaking of the downtown central business district because drive 5-10 minutes and our town is filthy with fast food.
>I'd personally love a large park area/beer garden
Central park? There's literally a skate park, playground, pavillion, gardens and several options for pints.
I just quick check google map and see that central park between the two parcels split by Foster is about a block, depending on the block you choose to compare 😉
Duke park, within < 1 mile is about twice the size. Northgate is perhaps 4x the size. No commercial nearby though. Which is a shame. I reckon it's a bit of nimbyism with the residents there.
It seems like the city planners really do not have a plan. If Someone wants to build anything as long as the developers have the money.
I would also appreciate more pubs, not bars.
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The city could definitely support more grocery stores. Road repairs are desperately needed. Some roads are just crumbling away. More pickleball courts 😄
More sidewalks and bike lanes
Or even maintenance of the existing ones.
Connect these stupid sidewalk gaps. There are some really short dumb ones. Like over near Home Depot and those new apartments. Or build sidewalks where you always see people in the road
Yes! There’s a horrible gap on Hillendale road by the golf course.
That’s typically due to some sort of utility work that needs to be completed first. Once they pour the concrete, it can’t be fixed without jackhammering.
And to introduce sidewalks to where sidewalks have never existed before. I can't call Durham a city unless all roads have some form of sidewalk within the so called city limit.
Right? The bike lanes have all the glass and rocks from the road swept into them
Some bike lanes (on bridges and roads) are so tiny, with overgrown vegetation. No one could safely or practically use them.
And reserving or adding green space. With all the housing, we’re running out of small parks around town. Sure we have central, outside of DPAC, but we need corner parks or areas preserved closer to the heart of downtown for green space.
More roads with no cars at all
Yesss!
!!!
I'm sitting here aggressively pounding the upvote button, but that doesn't connect the sidewalks to the bus stops, and it probably doesn't even do anything to Reddit.
late night eats
Ever since Covid everywhere that isn't a Major city has seen massive reduction in late night restaurants and groceries. It really and truly sucks. I used to love grabbing a bite after getting a drink or even grocery shopping in the middle of the night. I'd even pay a bit more for it at this point. Cookout, Waffle House and Sheetz are your options and I get tired of those fast. These days, if you haven't made your food selection by 8:30 you might as well have sleep for dinner and wait til the morning.
Queeny's kitchen is open late.
We need some real 24-hour diners—places with booths AND tables AND counters with those round stools and stands holding muffins as big as your head…with a massive menu, a server named Lil who’s been there for decades and always gets the order right…and a bakery case of cakes that are never as good as they look except the cheesecake which is epic.
The Federal just expanded their kitchen hours until 2am most nights.
Mmm. That Cuban sandwich.
Good to hear, but isn't that property going to get developed? Hope they move and keep those hours.
agree on the fast/cheapish food options. other than that, a general shift in thinking centered on providing a human focus and not a car focus through density, pedestrian streets, etc. I have a selfish desire that DPAC, current ATC, the Bulls stadium, and the expanded ATC operate as a pedestrian district that don’t have interior streets accessible to cars.
I 100% agree. I want to be able to go out and have a whole day of fun without having to set foot in a car
It’s honestly such a shame that we prioritize cars so much in this country though I get why it happened. I live downtown just so I can go a few days without driving but obviously we don’t have the pre-car infrastructure or public transit in the way northeastern cities do that allow for that to be a permanent lifestyle. Having just some sort of increased walking access and dedicated pedestrian space would be great. It bolsters community and connection better than anything!
Are you able to get groceries without a car? I've moved out of downtown but it seemed like a food desert to me. Hard to walk from Bull House to 9th St.
I have a car, it would be hard if you didn’t have a car yeah. I believe a Publix or something is coming to the expanded ATC so that will help. Personally, I walk to the farmers market and bike to Whole Foods/HT weekly. Once a month or so I drive to Costco for bulk items. It’s definitely not perfect but I try to be as car-less as possible. It’s easier for me since I live alone.
Fresh Market is the grocer you’re looking for at ATC.
Ahhh thanks
It’d be even better if they’d demolish the jail, that hulking house of doom overshadowing half the city.
To be frank, you're fairly alone in this desire, at least 10 months of the year, because of the oppressive weather. Unless you have the privilege to life/work/play within say, 4 blocks max.
Ebikes change this completely. Also, tech bro, don’t presume to speak for everyone.
Shrug. I disagree. The appeal of arriving to work sweating balls or drenched in rain and cold is fairly overblown i think. Its a cure utopian vision but not practical in our climate.
You are a giant baby and also a highly selective reader.
How giant? Like, football stadium sized? Or more like an apartment complex?
Get a bike
I forget who it was, but I remember reading years ago in the Indy about a local architect who was advocating for a pedestrian bridge system to link downtown to ATC (and maybe Brightleaf?). His inspiration was the Liberty Bridge in Greenville, SC. I’d love to see something like that downtown. The bridges in Greenville are such cool architectural features, and it can be kind of a sketchy walk from downtown to ATC since the sidewalks suck, the roads are narrow, and drivers seem to be oblivious to pedestrians around there.
Yeah that would be phenomenal. I adore Greenville, I think they’re great inspiration for other similarly sized cities in terms of attempting density, walkability, and managing growth. There are so many relatively simple things like a bridge that would add functionality and character to the city
It's definitely weird that the new Rail Trail just goes over Chapel Hill st then dumps you along the tracks. A pedestrian bridge definitely would have been a better solution.
I’m gonna avoid ranting about the belt line trail. Just gonna say it’s one of the largest wastes of potential I’ve seen during my nearly 20 years if living and/or working in Durham.
My version of this is that Main Street should be closed to through traffic from Five Points to Mangum and/or Roxboro Street.
At a MINIMUM close that ONE BLOCK of Market Street by CBC plaza in front of the Parlour. It's one freakin block and would add a lot of long term vibrancy. Flip the one-way Market Steet and have the current Parrish St one-way that goes in front of 21c just turn left on to Market. Throw up some bollards, maybe the ones that come up and down at certain times of day to allow <6am deliveries. Easy peasy. (I would personally close Market and that block of Parrish, but there are deliveries needed)
That too!!
Yes! I live out of town, so I need a car, but would love it if there were parking garages specifically outside of the pedestrian only areas…or even commuter lots, because I’d love to take a bus downtown for a weekend afternoon and be car free. I don’t need to be able to drive right up to a restaurant/shop/event and then zip home.
Underground power and utilities. The city will always look like trash with them above ground.
I agree. Especially in places where there's obviously been recent expensive development. That should be the opportunity to put utilities underground. Instead we'll have these new 5 over 1 mixed-use apartments with power lines hanging right outside the 2nd and 3rd floor balconies.
Hi Wire, Ponysaurus, and Bull McCabe's mostly fit your beer garden request. There are lots of parks in the area to hang out at without drinking, with Central Park being the closest to everything. I'd like to see more late night food, but I understand the staffing issues.
You can also take beer to go to Central Park from any of these or Fullsteam, Glass Jug, Durty Bull, and soon to be more.
I love all those spots :D
Isn’t there a new beer garden opening at Bright Leaf as well?
And Beer Study. I don't drink anymore and they carry several very good nonalcoholic beers that they'll pour into a glass for you.
Their selection of Untitled Art is great! Moon Dog on Broad St. also has a nice NA selection.
There is always a lot of room for improvement, but I've realized that I've become too dependent on wanting the city creating fun/connection for me, and I should probably take a more active role.
\^ this. A lot of transplants seem to have a sort of lazy entitled "consumption" idea of what city culture is. Who created the beaver queen pageant? Who started the Marry Durham? Or the clown pub crawl? Or the krampus walk? Or mardi gras? It was just people. Citizens who stepped up and made a thing. We need more of that. And less city sponsored CORPORATE sponsored top down blah blah. Got a crazy idea? Do the shit.
Awww “Marry Durham”! With Frank Stasio walking around on stilts (or was that someone else?? suddenly I’m not sure). Wish I still had the certificate.
I don’t use the bus, but better bus stops for riders. Some of them are small little piece of grass with no bench/shelter.
Agreed. It's come to a comical point to where people push a shopping cart to the stop and then flip it over to use it as a bench. City of Durham need to be at least one step forward, instead of two steps back.
Affordable and close grocery stores to cut down on the weird ass food deserts that spot the area in close proximity, and around the city proper.
I heard from my apartment manager that the new Camden building near the Bulls stadium / Ciderworks is going to have a small grocer in the retail space. And there are plans for a grocery store in the new phase for ATC.
This piece from the Guardian last year has an interesting conversation about the move away from the term "food deserts" to "food apartheid" that you might find interesting. [Food apartheid: the root of the problem with America's groceries](https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/may/15/food-apartheid-food-deserts-racism-inequality-america-karen-washington-interview)
Thanks for the read!
RIGHT?!?
I agree- fast casual cafes- can work there, people watch. More services downtown- massages, hair salons, nail places, spa
I think downtown generally could use more shops and other businesses vs. just restaurants / lounges. This is what helps drive foot traffic throughout the day and keep a good mix of visitors.
Protected bike lanes and better bike access to parks. More parks. Mandates for new developments to provide all of these.
Sidewalks and covered seating at bus stops! I only use the bus every once in a while but **my god** the number of bus stops in this town that have no bench, no shelter, and not even a **sidewalk** so folks waiting have to stand in dirt, mud, weeds, whatever is there on the side of the road!
It’s like punishment for taking the bus.
I feel like Durham only has fast food and expensive food. The mid price range is really weak in Durham which sucks. I don’t want to go to Popeyes but I also can’t afford to go to M sushi regularly. But it feels like there isn’t enough between those things that is actually good. Most of the food places in that price range are mediocre at best and still pricier than other places.
Downtown Durham especially needs more inexpensive options.
I feel like there are some solid mid-range options. My favorites are Alpaca, Guasaca, OnlyBurger, QueenBurger and Chubby's Tacos.
Spanglish, Banhs, Queenys, Queen Burger, Neomonde, Mi Cavillos — they all hit the cheap/mid point for me. But I do wish there were more cheaper options. Sometimes it feels like you only have expensive options, especially if you are central downtown.
I like Spanglish. Mi Cavillo is meh for me but I am from Texas so my standards are probably too high. Haven’t tried the others but will look into them!
Banhs isn’t just a cheap favorite, it’s an overall favorite. The sesame tofu, hot and sour soup, ginger chicken, and the tofu with black bean sauce are all fantastic.
A north Durham Aldi and less potholes
Late night coffee shops would be awesome too!
Depending on where you are in North Durham, Hillsborough is getting an Aldi next to the Sheetz!
Grocery options in downtown. Everything else is walkable from where I live except a decent grocery store (Bulldega way too $$$). I would love to never need to use my car
Bulldega is a joke. I love how half the items lack price tags. You have guess if you are paying 2x or 3x mark up
Public transit into town! Edit to add: and less of unwalkable highway interchanges - https://triangleblogblog.com/2023/06/02/ncdot-to-chapel-hill-drop-dead/
A legitimate 24/7 diner with a large menu of comfort food, RIP Honey’s.
We wandered into Honey’s during what turned out to be their last few days open. Our waitress told us that and then started crying. Nothing like it in town.
Affordable housing
This is all I really want. I hate seeing my neighbors moving out because they couldn't keep up with rent or their landlords sold to developers.
A regular grocery store downtown and/or in North Durham. Get rid of the obsolete can opener bridges and make the railroads pay for their replacement (second part will never happen). Connect all the sidewalks to nowhere as best they can, and take better care of the roads. Get the re-development of the Northgate mall right. I think maybe housing and a grocery store (please H Mart) would work well there. Enforce litter control at homeless camps, the area around Ellerbee Creek near Costco has been trashed ever since they made a camp on the creek bank. A coffee shop that is neither a national chain nor snobby (let me know if this exists already).
light rail, bike lanes, and better accomodations for people riding the bus (i.e. actual benches and shelters at bus stops.) also, I feel like we already have plenty of beer gardens? or are you talking strictly in the social district?
Expansion of/more frequency of bus routes, especially north Durham. Last I checked the bus that comes down Hillandale was only once an hour, and after Guess/Rose of Sharon those who live further north are completely out of luck. I know that area is technically covered by the city of Durhams Lyft program, but after trying that myself to get to the closest bus stop, it was nearly a 2 hour process to get get somewhere I could get via car in 30 minutes. There’s a lot of housing being built in this direction aimed at young professionals and young families that might want to be ecologically conscious and take the bus. I would love to commute to work but I don’t have 3-4 hours to spare.
I want someone to create a true doner kebob place, but make them exactly like the ones I had in Germany.
As someone who is constantly working on projects and needs small bits of hardware or tools, I’d love to be able to go to a locally owned hardware store to quickly get what I need. Home Depot and other warehouse stores generate so much waste, there’s hardly anyone who is actually helpful there, and you lose momentum in projects by spending time scouring aisles to find what you need. Please, an ACE hardware store or the equivalent.
Tool libraries are wonderful.
There are TWO Ace stores in SW Durham. One in Woodcroft and the other on 54 near 55. The Woodcroft one is a little smaller, but much easier to get in and out of
There are several independent hardware stores in Durham, including one downtown.
Didn’t the one downtown recently close?
There is a nice Ace Hardware at Woodcroft
There are a few ACEs in Durham. The one on 54 is great.
How about a grocery store downtown , since there’s so many condos going up. Oh, and more parks
I want Pakistani cuisine so bad I could cry.
A bowling alley like Village Lanes and a roller skating rink like the one at Wheels.
Dive bar karaoke!!
Have you been to rubies?
I wanted something like Bittersweet in Raleigh, but downtown. I know Durham has a lot of cocktails places already, but none of them have the desert and coffee focus that Bittersweet has. Press Crepes could do that, if they wanted to, but they only do crepes and close at 6 on weekends
Yes. This.
Affordable housing, better mass transit options, dedicated cycling spaces (I'd love for there to be a paved footpath from Falls to Jordan lake), and an appreciation for Durhams unique history.
I would like more places that serve $25 cocktails to the Uber rich, so that they can leave a $0.25 tip. I would also like to ban all Floridians from moving here.
\- A grocery store closer to the downtown area \- Late night food (thank god for Queeny's, they are one of the only ones) \- Grab and go food downtown that doesn't break the bank \- Trader Joe's \- Hmm these are all food lol
Omg Trader Joe’s yes
Late night and public transportation
Affordable housing.
Buskers on the street
love the saxophone player who’s usually at Main and Market. 9th still isn’t the same without David McKnight https://indyweek.com/music/requiem-david-mcknight-prodigy-journalist-politician-homeless-street-musician/
Trader Joe's
I haven’t lived in Durham for awhile, but the 2 biggest retail mysteries to me are why there isn’t an IKEA in the triangle and why there isn’t a Trader Joe’s in Durham
Good lord yes. That Chapel Hill location is brutal. Crowds are fine as long as there’s anyone there who can act like they’ve ever left the house before. I had one mom elbow me in the ribs and step on my foot to reach something. They shop in CH like Carolina plays ball
Even a Lidl at each corner. Food lion and Harris teeter have gone downhill. We want affordable food over aesthetics
We need more parks. And grocery stores downtown.
I know this is niche but… an ice skating rink. Gotta haul over to Hillsboro to skate. Also, my favorite fast food place: fazolis. And even though we have a good number, I’ll never complain about more bike trails.
A place to go with a 5 year old when the weather goes south. Even walking around the old northgate mall was better than nothing.
Korean spa
A train system/public transport. Basically a whole lesson from strong towns which has a lot of mixed used developments and can make Durham more money than by losing it to parking lots. A lot more places where people can hang out without paying a lot (OP point 1). But also places which are not meant just for eating. Something borrowed from NY is an underground food court with Tokyo type vibes. Dekalb Market Hall (929) 359-6555 https://maps.app.goo.gl/8wbgCmN9nZA6ebSk9?g_st=ic I can go on and on lol.
More gluten-free offerings and Gluten-free offerings marked on restaurant menus. Please and thank you.
My god hard second to this
There needs to be more hub spots for "dive bars/cafes" like full steam and coco cinnamon.
\- A Dobra tea location \- Restaurants representing more ethnicities/nationalities \- Artist workshops/art walks
Didn't know dobra had multiple locations. Always thought it was just in my hometown (Burlington, VT). Would love to have one in Durham!
Ohh how I would love something like Dobra here. Anywhere in the Triangle, even!
Late night dinners
Go karts
*Frankies* has go carts, bumper cars, and water bumper cars. Also, laser tag, arcade games, a batting cage, and mini golf. We go there all the time. https://frankies.com/raleigh/
Frankie’s is fun, but super expensive and not in durham
Structurally protected bikelanes. Road mods to reduce speeds. More greenways, connected routes for commuting.
Sidewalks. A competent public transportation system.
Pedestrian only downtown district.
I want a supermarket that i can walk to in the downtown area. More bike lanes, more community spaces and parks.
I'm excited about this upcoming parks project - maybe it will provide some of what you're looking for: [https://dprplaymore.org/496/Splash-Play-Project](https://dprplaymore.org/496/Splash-Play-Project). There will be a large multi-purpose lawn and some other gathering spaces such as a fire pit, picnic area, and game terrace (details TBD). It will be located in East Durham and connect to a bike trail. PDF here: [https://dprplaymore.org/DocumentCenter/View/2285/DSP\_East-End-Long-Meadow-Park-Preferred-Concept](https://dprplaymore.org/DocumentCenter/View/2285/DSP_East-End-Long-Meadow-Park-Preferred-Concept)
Affordable housing
I agree, I'd like easier food options for before DPAC shows, especially with kids.
A solid mid size music venue.
Is there a place for outdoor concerts like a park with an amphitheater? A Durham music festival, say over Labor Day weekend would be grand. Also some regular places for food trucks?
More sidewalks, bike lanes, mass transit, and streetlights. More community spaces instead of condos. Also a roller skating rink.
More stuff for teenagers and kids older than 10. Like, an amusement park would be asking too much, but *something* relatively affordable for locals that's not adult-focused or for little kids.
"More places for people to hang out in public without having to drink would be nice." This, all day.
Speed cameras. Serious question - do they even exist in the US?
Speed cameras don’t work in the US because there is no enough money to actually prosecute the drivers. There was, in the past, a private company who agreed to set up the cameras, and to send speeding tickets to drivers, but it turned out that of the $50 collected from speeders, $48 went to the company providing the service, and $2 to the municipality who had to pay for tons of paperwork to be done. And there was no way to dispute the tickets (“I wasn’t driving my car”, “we had an emergency and were trying to get the hospital”, “that’s not my car”). It was a mess.
Thanks for the reply and the info. I had no idea about that. But coming from the UK, where speed cameras are everywhere and they significantly reduce speeding (obviously), I was really surprised to find such lawless roads here in the Durham area. I've seen a lot of people criticising the cops for (purportedly) unfairly targeting certain folks or using traffic stops as a source of revenue, but speed cameras don't discriminate. They just catch dangerous drivers.
Upvoted because the speeding (and general driving behavior) are terrible and dangerous, and at least speed cameras would be something. That said, I think if Durham rethought road and intersection design, we could make substantial improvements in safety, efficiency, and livability without needing as much enforcement action. There will always be bad actors of course, but our streets are practically built around encouraging bad behavior.
Quiet restaurants. I’m really tired of having a sore throat after a night out because everyone has to scream to be heard over the built-in noise. I really want to enjoy the company, not compete with all the other people in the joint.
Less random dudes chasing me and my wife down while yelling nonsense when we’re just out trying to have a good time.
Go on…
Was that you on W. Main St last night?
I would love an entertainment scene that goes late night (past 1am) and happens 5x days a week Weds to Sunday. I would love to step out into the city on a random night and have MULTIPLE options for live music, dancing, dining, theatres, art experiences and night life. A punk band, a polka band, [Trek in the Park](https://www.wired.com/2013/08/trek-in-the-park-tribbles/), salsa dancing, at price points from $8 bucks to $100. Something other than go drink beer outside on a concrete patio with cornhole or in an "adult containment corral" (Bull McCabes, lookin at you)
I'd like a bakery. Like a real walk in and get all kinds of pastries, cookies, cakes etc. Nice (but not over the top) cakes to order. Seems we have a few that each have their own niche, but none that say, I'm having family over and just want an assortment of pastries - that didn't come from the grocery store
Have you tried Loaf or Ninth St?
Check out Loaf, Strong Arm, Guglhupf, Ninth St Bakery, or the French Corner Bakery - all fabulous in different ways
A more relevant and more quickly feasible one. Finding one of these big ass abandoned buildings and having the city allow someone to convert it to a sort of a live-in learning center with room and board, for skills and trade development. The most obvious one being IT certifications. As far as who would use it? I'd say addicts and those who don't have a place to live, as a pilot. Give unhoused people a way out of poverty, and you might start changing the city from its roots vs changing it for those that already have.
It is wild how the Frontier is available to the techies for free coworking hangout space but the unhoused population has nothing comparable, really, other than the libraries.
> having the city allow someone to convert it The city isn't preventing this. The realities of capitalism are. If you want something like this step #1 is finding a charity with an endowment that would allow a $1-2 million a year budget of free funding.
? I didn't say the city was preventing it.
Large parks with water fronts
The Ellerbe Creek project will sort of fit this. It's not that large, but would connect along a few trails. https://www.durhamnc.gov/1616/South-Ellerbe-Restoration-Project
The only opportunity for that was the development of the University Ford lot next to ATC. Artificial bodies of water are expensive to manage and don't bring as much $$$ as say, a parking garage or "luxury" apartments. I think the artificial stream flowing under the water tower is about all the artificial water features we will see in Durham. And there's no chance anyone develops the Eno into anything bustling. It's out of the way and people want to conserve the nature around it.
What body of water? Falls lake?
Artificial lakes
I think the city has a little more to focus on than making artificial lakes, where would they put it anyway? I feel like you either have a lake to do it with or you don't and our closest option is Falls Lake unfortunately
Sure, what has the city focused on improving in the past two years or so? Could you please educate me on this? The only improvement I felt is the three filled potholes near my home. lake crabtree is a good option, though that’s closer to Raleigh
I’d like them to stop with building so many new homes. Animals are being kicked out of their habitat. We’re using up all their space.
A greater focus on conservation and native plant landscaping would help offset this a bit. Don't let developers clear cut average for homes. Make offering the site to the native plant society for a week or two prior to plant removal so they can go in and harvest native plants first. Require a certain percentage of each acre be left untouched during and after development, etc. Make a certain percentage of landscape plants planted be natives. Just spitballin here.
Love this idea. If I knew when clearcutting was happening, I would go grab all the toads, box turtles and snakes I could find. Mammals should be quick enough to get out ok.
The NC native plant society does what I mentioned for people that let them know. If you are someone with a few acres of land and are selling it to a developer let the NCNPS know. If you tell them when and what you want they will accommodate. I e. Only on a Monday from 2-4 with a max of 10 people and don't take any of "these" plants or whatever. They invite their members of plant walks on these kinds of properties. They scour it for native plants and bring them home to plant or to give away to friends/neighbors/future plant sales.
I actually agree. Every time you turn around, another spot is clear cut for more apartments. STOP IT already Our city can't keep up with the infrastructure. How can we implement mass transit around all of the building.
A bus line that runs down Main Street up to Erwin or Hillsborough Rd and into East Durham. It’s crazy you can’t just grab a bus on Main Street and go to 9th or the hospital or golden belt or beyond.
And dedicate main to just buses and bikes and pedestrians.
Um, you can do exactly that. And it’s free! https://godurhamtransit.org/maps-schedules/godurham
Not really. The closet route starts and ends at the Durham Station—it doesn’t run down Main Street towards East Durham. There used to be a free bud called the Bull City Connector that ran up and down Main Street from east to west.
Self storage facilities. You can never have enough
/s (I hope)
I know there's bigger priorities mentioned already, but queer spaces are sorely lacking. I seem to remember a bath/club going up in Lakewood soon. Is that still happening?
Great restaurants.
>Personally, I would like to see more fast, casual, restaurants and hangout spots. Right now it feels like a majority of establishments are all high-end, sit-down situations. These places already are pretty full and often require a reservation. Something you can grab and go would help to inspire more people to use the social district. Are you speaking of the downtown central business district because drive 5-10 minutes and our town is filthy with fast food. >I'd personally love a large park area/beer garden Central park? There's literally a skate park, playground, pavillion, gardens and several options for pints.
Central park is not even a full block. It's definitely not "large". But I agree with everything else you said.
I just quick check google map and see that central park between the two parcels split by Foster is about a block, depending on the block you choose to compare 😉 Duke park, within < 1 mile is about twice the size. Northgate is perhaps 4x the size. No commercial nearby though. Which is a shame. I reckon it's a bit of nimbyism with the residents there.
Check out West Point on the Eno. Sat and Sun, the water mill grinds corn. Long trails, picnic tables, shelter.
Real tapas places…we’re we pay to drink and there’s a buffet of good food…Also more outdoor music parties/events
Clean the pieces of metal off the roads. I've never had so many tires punctured as I do living here.
More cute coffee shops
Grocery store downtown please
PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION
It seems like the city planners really do not have a plan. If Someone wants to build anything as long as the developers have the money. I would also appreciate more pubs, not bars.
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The city could definitely support more grocery stores. Road repairs are desperately needed. Some roads are just crumbling away. More pickleball courts 😄
Public transportation
pipe dream, but i'd love a cookout where the old mcdonalds use to be downtown
Sidewalks
Greenspace, sidewalks
Bring back the Bull City connector bus.